COLUMBUS, Ohio -- In all out battle in the City League on Friday night, Africentric used and all-around team effort and a game-high 19 points from sophomore guard Laron Fuller to take down South 54-52 on the road.

After Africentric jumped out to a 15-11 lead after one quarter of play, South used a 7-2 run to start the second quarter in order to claim an 18-17 lead with 4:34 left in the half.

Beginning to find a groove on offense heading into the break, South increased their lead to 31-26 at the break after junior guard Kevin Brown Jr. hit a big three late in the second.

Going on a 9-0 run to start the second half, Africentric used two triples from Fuller and one from Dan Wagner to claim a 35-31 lead early in the second half and claim all of the momentum.

Continuing to play extremely hard, South fought their way back to claim a 43-42 lead heading into the final quarter.

The two squads delivered back-and-forth blows for the entirety of the quarter led just 52-50 with 2:38 to go.

After Dailyn Swain dropped off a pretty dime to Preston Steele for a dunk to increase the lead to four, it seemed like the Nubians held all of the momentum and would hang on to win this one.

South trimmed the lead back to two following a layup from Lajames Washington, however Africentric had a chance to seal it when Swain headed to the line to shoot one-and-one.

After he missed the front end, South had a beautiful look on a corner three to win it, but unfortunately it rimmed out and Africentric executed a great inbound play to the run the rest of the time off of the clock and secure the win.

Outside of Fuller's 19 points, Africentric received 11 points from Steele and 10 from Swain in the close win.

South was led by 12 points from Washington and 12 points from Desean Pollard.​​​​​​​

Laron Fuller (2024 G / Africentric / 2024): Fuller turned in an excellent performance for Africentric, really showing off his offensive versatility in the second half. Fuller scored 19 points in a handful of ways, demonstrating his ability to score from all three levels. Fuller hit a mid-range jumper off the dribble, knocked down three triples and also got inside for some tough finishes throughout the contest. Fuller was the life of Africentric in the second half and played a huge role in the Nubians hanging on in this one. If Africentric continues to receive performances like this from the sophomore guard, their offensive attack will become even more deadly.

Dailyn Swain (6'7 WG / Africentric / 2023): While Swain did not fill it up in the scoring column, he used his elite length and versatile skillset to affect the game in a handful of other ways. The 6-foot-7 junior dropped a handful of impressive dimes and blocked several shots on the defensive end, altering lot of South's looks when he was on the interior. The junior wing also hit a mid-range jumper off the bounce, used his length to come up with a few tough finishes inside and elevated for a two-handed dunk in transition. While South did a good job of containing Swain offensively at times, he is a very difficult man to matchup with as his quickness, handle and big crossover allow him to create space with ease. We were impressed with the overall impact of the junior tonight and are excited to see if he can lead the Nubians to a City League South title and more this season as they picked up two big wins this week.

Desean Pollard (6'0 G / South / 2023): Pollard provided South with great energy on both ends of the floor tonight and led the team with 12 points. The junior showed off his stroke by knocking down three triples and also had a tough score on the interior. Pollard was impressive on the defensive end as well and delivered South with a momentum shifting play in the second half when he took a charge shortly before knocking down a three on the other end. Pollard is a prospect we are excited to continue to track this year as he turned in a solid performance on Friday night and almost helped South come out victorious.

Preston Steele (6'6 WF / Africentric / 2023): Steele provided Africentric with an impactful two-way performance on Friday night as he came up with a handful of big plays on both ends of the floor. The junior is a stellar athlete at 6-foot-6 as he rose up for a dunk off of vertical in the fourth quarter and also had a big block on the other end of the floor. Steele played with an excellent motor tonight as well as he was constantly involved on the glass despite being in foul trouble, delivering a couple of second chance scores and also hitting a turnaround mid-range jumper off the dribble. Steele is an intriguing prospect and played a big role on both ends in Africentric's win tonight.